As someone who has been involved in classical music all her life, a professor of chamber music at the Academy of Music of the University of Montenegro, Nataša Popović, points out for “Vijesti” that he always looks at things optimistically and that everyone who starts playing classical music does so solely and solely out of love for it. The Piano Collectives of Students have shown that this is so. They opened the eleventh Festival of Contemporary Piano Music “Forte Piano” yesterday in the Great Hall of the KIC “Budo Tomović”. From the youngest to the oldest, they showed their skills in four-hand playing.
"This year, the theme of the Festival is 'pianists in a collective', four-hand playing from the field of 20th century and contemporary music, so our selection of repertoire was also moving in that direction," said the piano teacher at the "Vasa Pavić" secondary music school, Milena Nikočević.
She also pointed out that this festival has been traditional in Montenegro for many years, and each year it covers a different topic.
"Basically, it's always contemporary piano music. The organization was wonderful, the students performed the compositions extremely successfully, and I think that's the impression of the audience," she told "Vijesti".
He says that all of this is an additional incentive to work and inspiration at a given moment on stage.
Popović also expressed her satisfaction at seeing people aged seven to 24 playing "this kind of music", from the more recent era, from the early 20th century and from the 21st century.
Nikočević particularly emphasized that this experience is very important for the students, since they are all studying for the stage.
"We train them for performance, so every additional performance is a plus experience for them. Therefore, when it's on such a serious stage as part of a festival, it has additional weight," she explains.
He says they try to create opportunities for them to perform.
"We work regularly, intensively, there are school performances, school competitions, regional, republican... the best students have the opportunity to compete on international stages every year. It mostly depends on their work," says Nikočević.
Regarding the students' performance, Popović emphasized that she was satisfied, that they had prepared and implemented their idea to create a visual-audio experience where everything was accompanied by "a beautiful" story and brief information about the composer. They were guided by the idea of 20th-century composers themselves, who, when presenting a new work, talked to each other and commented on it, Popović emphasized.
"As a performer, I always like to combine absolutely all parts of art, I like to combine voice and music and everything. I think that nowadays it should be done more this way, because that way the audience is more involved in everything that is happening. There is a kind of educator in me. I like people to leave the concert with some new knowledge," said Popović.
He says that work on a work of art begins with getting to know the composer's personality.
"You get to know the time when he was creating, the social circumstances, try to get as much into his thoughts as possible," she emphasized, adding that she was especially pleased that the students enjoyed the work process.
In addition to playing, they also used the piano strings, which they ran their hands over, and the mirror effect on the piano made it possible to see how they did this when performing "Đuska". Natasha Bogojević.
"Bogojević is a composer born in Belgrade, who lives in Chicago. She has been creating since the end of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century. It is simply a new way of expression in music, because since the 20th century, especially the 21st century, music has begun to choose not only tone but absolutely all sounds as its means. Already in the 20th and 21st centuries, composers are trying to get the most out of the instrument in front of them," she explains.
He says that when it comes to the piano, in this sense, it's not just the keyboard and the hammer that hits the strings and creates the sound, but the strings themselves are also used. He adds that the works also feature striking the piano's rim and the board.
"So the entire instrument is the source of sound. Natasha Bogojević chose this method for this composition," says Popović.
She pointed out that those who practice classical music never give up on it.
"There is a story that there is not enough audience. I don't think there is a need for an excessively large audience. There is a critical mass in Montenegro and there are people who love it. It is up to us to present, it is up to us to share with them. As interpreters, we have the power and the honor to bring notes on paper to life. It depends on us how it will be presented, how it will be accepted by the audience, but - there is always an audience. All of us who deal with classical music will certainly invest in ensuring that it lasts and lasts, and when it has been going on for 400-500 years... it also lasts through the compositions of new young composers," she emphasized.
He believes that Montenegro has a great scene, and that this festival nurtures it.
"That's why it has an extremely important place in the cultural life, not only of Podgorica but of all of Montenegro," she said, emphasizing that the performance of the Student Piano Collectives included students from several cities.
She reiterates that she is always an optimist, that she and the people around her in the world of music invest in it and that they will always invest "because it lasts and is worth it."
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